The demand for high-speed data communication has been increasing of late as Internet use becomes more widespread, and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services, in which optical fibers are laid to individual homes, are also expanding. It is expected that optical connectors will be used in typical homes as well. For example, an optical connector is attached to an end of an optical fiber cord connected to optical communication equipment, and a plug of the optical connector is inserted into an optical connection adapter provided in the wall, so that the optical communication equipment in the home is connected to the FTTH network.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2002-71999 discloses an optical connector assembling jig and method used with such applications. FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a conventional optical connector assembling jig 100. In the assembling jig 100, pressing an operation button 101 enables an optical fiber 103 held in a holder 102 to be moved to a mechanical splicer arranging portion 104.
In the assembling jig 100, gripping the operation button 101 with one hand enables a connection between an embedded fiber and the optical fiber 103 to be readily achieved. However, if too little pressure is used during the connection, it is difficult achieve a reliable optical connection between the embedded fiber and the optical fiber 103. In cases in which the optical fiber 103 is a thick buffered fiber having a diameter of 0.9 mm, the optical fiber 103 can break, and the fiber is not readily inserted so that a suitable amount of pressure (e.g., 0.2 N) is maintained.